Ten parties discuss draft supplementary bill; no breakthrough yet
A meeting between the top leaders of the seven-party alliance (SPA) and the leaders of Madhesi parties on the draft of the supplementary constitution amendment bill ended inconclusively on Monday.
The talks were deadlocked after the Madhesi leaders objected to the plural term 'autonomous Madhes provinces', proposed by the seven parties in the draft bill. The seven-party leaders, on the other hand, said they were not ready to mention a single 'autonomous Madhes province' in the constitution.
The two sides have also differed on the issue of Madhesis' representation in the army.
While the Madhesi parties reiterated their demand for "proportionate representation" of Madhesis in the national army, the seven parties said they were against the proportional representation but in favour of making the army an inclusive organisation.
General secretary of CPN (Marxist Leninist) C.P Mainali informed that Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist) haven't shown any clear stance on the demand for proportionate representation in the army, but UML and other allies are clearly against this demand.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters after the meeting, coordinator of Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Upendra Yadav, criticised the seven parties for "failing to understand the demands of the Madhesis correctly".
"We are not demanding 'one Madhes province' right now, but the seven parties are creating a false impression as if we are making this demand," he said, "All we are saying is that the amendment bill should reflect the past agreement between the government and the United Democratic Madhesi Front."
He made it clear that the Madhesi parties would carry on with their protest in the Constituent Assembly if the demands are not met.
Following talks with the Madhesi leaders, the SPA leaders had held a discussion on the ways to resolve the imbroglio but could not arrive at a decision.
They are to hold another round of discussion with Madhesi parties Tuesday morning. nepalnews.com mk July 07 08
